Man portable ballistic shields are frequently used by SWAT teams, bomb squads, policemen, military agencies, and in civilian applications that may involve fragment impact due to operations related gun fire or explosions. Weight is a major consideration in the design of such portable shields. Most currently available ballistic shields are designed to defeat NIJ Level II and III rounds. Currently available ballistic shields for NIJ Level IV (7.62×63 mm AP (Armor Piercing)) protection are so heavy that they are mounted on wheels for mobility. In recent years, the availability of higher powered rifles and a variety of small caliber AP rounds has posed additional threats for law enforcement officers as well as the military. Thus, the need for ballistic shields providing NIJ Level IV protection has significantly increased. There is an even more pressing for the military because of the greatly increased availability of 7.62×63 mm AP weapons/rounds. This invention relates to the design and manufacturing of portable ballistic shields for weapons up to 7.62×63 mm protection. These new shields are much lighter in weight than the state-of-the-art shields. They also have some fire and blast protection capabilities.
Conventional portable shields are manufactured from metal sheets including but not limited to titanium, stainless steel, carbon steel, and superalloys. More modern ballistic shields are manufactured form ballistic resistant fabrics like aramid fibers and ceramic tiles.
Man-portable shields have been used since ancient times. Our ancestors used shields to protect from stone attacks. Later, shields were used for protection from arrows attack, swords, axes, spears, and other traditional weapons. Ballistic shields evolved with the invention of guns. Ballistic shield research and development, and improvements therein have evolved in parallel with the development of offensive weapons such as small arms. Man-portable ballistic shields for NIJ Level III protection appeared when rifles were developed. A state-of-the-art ballistic shield for NIJ Level III protection with dimensions of 20.5-in by 34.5-in weighs about 32-lb (for example those available from Protech). In recent years, the availability of armor piercing rounds has significantly altered and elevated the requirements for man-portable ballistic shields. Portable ballistic shields for protection against 7.62×63 mm AP rounds were developed because of this new demand.
Thus, the increased penetrating power of small arms drove the design of the ballistic shields to be thicker and heavier. In the early stages of this development, if metals were used to manufacture shields for protection against 7.62×63 mm AP rounds a medium size shield would weigh several hundred pounds. This weight severely affected the user's mobility and were basically unmanageable. The use of ceramic tiles significantly reduced the weight of the shield. The currently available Phoenix Level IV ballistic protection shield consists of 3 pieces of ceramic tile each 16×24-in and weighs 157 pounds. Based on the same construction a shield with an overall area 21×34-in weighs about 97-lb. This state-of-the-art ballistic shield is still very heavy and therefore, is mounted on wheels or dolly for mobility. A similar evolution has occurred in the design and development of so called SAPI or small arms protective inserts for wearable body armor.
A typical ballistic man portable ballistic shield has a transparent window made of polycarbonate, see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,302,880 B1 and 5,392,686. The view port is about 14.5 by 4.5-in and is fastened to the ballistic panel with screws through the front panel. Other designs use transparent polycarbonate for the entire shield, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,367,943 B1 and 5,641,934. For all these shields, a view port or an entire shield made from polycarbonate can only stop NIJ Level IIIA rounds. It is, therefore, a major weakness in the state-of-the-art NIJ Level IV ballistic shield. The shield described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,367,943 B1 uses a high-brightness light source to enhance visibility in darkness. While this improves visibility, it does not eliminate the basic problem of the relatively poor ballistic protection offered by the transparent polycarbonate window.
Thus, there remains a need for an enhanced lightweight, man portable ballistic shield that offers NIJ Level IV protection. To be considered “man portable” a ballistic shield should weigh less than about 75 pounds and preferably less than about 50 pounds. A similar need exists for lightweight SAPI elements.